Kataeb Party

The Kataeb Party, also called the Phalange in English, is a Christian right-wing party in Lebanon that was established on 1 August 1936 by Pierre Gemayel. Led by the Gemayel family throughout much of its existence, the Kataeb Party was a major political party in the 1970s and 1980s, and Phalangist militias associated with the party (such as the Lebanese Forces and South Lebanon Army) fought against the Lebanese National Movement, Syrian Arab Army, Palestine Liberation Organization, and other pro-Syria organizations. After the assassination of their President-Elect Bashir Gemayel and their defeat militarily at the hands of Hezbollah in the 1990s, the Phalangists moved towards politics, and they joined the anti-Syria March 14 Alliance. In 2016, they had 5/128 seats in the Lebanese Parliament and 3/24 cabinet seats.